Long live the snail. How to make a snail - cold forging machine (drawings).

One way to decorate areas is to use forged items. Fences, benches, gazebos, stair railings and other similar structures look very decorative. Moreover, in most cases, these products are not forging in its traditional sense. Most often, this is done not in a forge or with a hammer and anvil, but with the help of some devices that allow you to create a wide variety of patterns and products from metal strips and square rods. To make such products you will need cold forging machines. Some of them you can make with your own hands, others are easier to buy.

Fences, railings for stairs and balconies - you can also do it yourself

Canopy over the porch using cold forging

Porch railings are a decoration, not a purely utilitarian fixture.

You can make a gazebo and forged furniture

The gate looks magical

Cold forging method

The method involves using an important property of metal - plasticity.
With the help of various mandrels and mechanical devices, the rod is bent in different directions, twisted, and forms various three-dimensional shapes. As additional processing, welding and metalworking operations are used to connect parts of workpieces. Entry-level machines are quite simple and are driven by the muscular strength of the master working on them. The minimum set of forging equipment for cold forging of metal includes:

Bending machines, or Gnutiki, are used to bend workpieces at a given angle and radius.
Twisters, or torsion bars, are used to twist a workpiece (or group of workpieces) around the longitudinal axis
Wave - used to create periodic bends in different directions.
Snail forging machine - used to create spiral-shaped curls at the end of a rod.

Is it possible to master cold forging yourself? Yes, it is enough to have basic skills in metalwork, design and machining.

Many home craftsmen have made a snail - a cold forging machine on their own, without using expensive components.

Pros and features of the process

Cold forging is a popular type of work due to the fact that it can be used to create unusual parts of various shapes and sizes.

Using a cold forging machine, you can make a fence for a flower bed, a decorative lantern, an unusual fence, railings or handles for a bench and other elements.

Another advantage of cold forging is that it is quite easy to make a machine with which you can create such parts with your own hands. This will help you save on the purchase of expensive equipment.

The cold forging process consists of three main elements: bending, pressing and welding of parts. The equipment needed for this process is quite simple and compact, you can do it yourself and it will not take up much space in your workshop or garage.

You can start learning metal processing with cold forging, because... this process is easier and safer because you don't have to deal with high temperatures like other types of welding.

For this process, a ready-made template is usually used - that is, blank parts.

Of course, cold forging has its own subtleties, they mainly consist in the fact that the part is easily damaged or deformed during the process: forged elements often break, and the defect cannot be corrected, so forging must be done very carefully.

However, using a high-quality machine and a drawing of the future part, you can easily learn how to create products with twisted, wavy and other unusual shapes. You can see the options in the photo above.

The process of processing blanks through cold forging occurs in several stages. The first step is to create a template or drawing of the future design.

It is necessary to calculate the dimensions of the product in order, firstly, to purchase the required amount of material, and, secondly, to properly configure the machine.

Different machines provide different possibilities for creating patterns - this depends on the complexity of making the tool.

For example, the simplest do-it-yourself machines can only bend products, while with the help of more complex models you can create patterns, etc.

After the template or drawing is ready, you need to buy the required amount of material in accordance with your calculations. For cold forging you will need iron rods, you can buy them in the store.

Rods for cold forging should not be too thick, otherwise they will be difficult to bend. The next stage is making the parts yourself:

The most important thing here is to set the settings correctly so that during operation of the machine the parts are not damaged or deformed, because it will be impossible to fix the problem.

Lastly, the completed parts are secured to the frame. This happens by welding.

You need to be especially careful when welding with your own hands with thin-walled tubes, because... It’s easy to burn through them, and then the design will become faulty and you’ll have to do it all over again.

You can watch the entire forging process in the video before you start working on your parts.

But before you start cold forging, you, of course, need to make the machine that is necessary for this. The “Snail” machine is the most common apparatus for processing metal products using the cold forging method with your own hands.

You can see all the stages of creating the machine in the video - there is nothing complicated about it, and almost everyone will be able to cope with this task themselves.

Maybe you need a punch? Main concepts

Blacksmithing products are an exclusive and expensive business. And, in general, it is already exotic, if we exclude stamping, which is done automatically and in huge volumes.

Stamping is the extrusion or deformation of metal using a stamping press with a special matrix - a nozzle at the end. This is what it is - a punch that is made from the highest strength steel. Stamping can be hot, with heating of metals to forging temperature, and cold, without any heating. You don’t have to look far for an example of cold stamping - these are all metal drink cans.

Types of forging machines.

We are finally approaching working with metals in a cold way - without heating. Question: is it possible to deform metal without heating? Answer: yes, you can. The only way is mechanical. It is called a not very serious word - riveting or cold hardening. To do this, you will have to hit the metal with a hammer until you are stupefied until its structure begins to change significantly.

This process is precisely cold forging - mechanical deformation of metal blanks using mechanical blows with a hammer. If you decide to take up peening forging, then we say hello to your family and neighbors in advance - they will face serious challenges.

But seriously, there are fans of cold forging using the riveting method, we wish them success and move on to pseudo-cold forging, as they used to call it.

Mechanical deformation of metals using various machines without heating is more correctly called metal bending, because in this method of metal processing, craftsmen bend metal rods. They don't do anything else - they just bend. Another question is how and where they bend, along what axis, but all these are artistic aspects of metal bending, which we will also dwell on, but later.

The most important thing is that in the future we will call this process cold forging - as it is done in all sources, so that there is no confusion. It’s just that now we understand the methods and understand what the essence of the so-called “cold forging” is.

By the way, do you need a punch? It's a beautiful word. You won't be involved in industrial stamping of metal blanks, will you? But artistic forging with your own hands is a very real possibility at home. There is even light stamping along with punches... Let's look into it further.

What is produced using the cold forging technique

That is, where we can direct the result of our work. And, as practice shows, there are not so few options. Especially if you live in a private house or have your own dacha.

All kinds of furniture for your garden. From small and cozy benches to large fences on terraces, consisting of branched forged ornaments. Various barbecues, chairs and more.
Fencing of all types. Moreover, both for the external type, along the perimeter of the territory, and for the internal purely visual gradation.
Coverings for gazebos.
Sports equipment of different types.
Frame buildings for growing crops.

As you can see, if you have a drawing to make a cold forging machine with your own hands, then it is possible to subsequently acquire a huge number of extremely useful things for the garden and home. As they say, there would be a desire.

Assembling the device

This version of the machine is used as an example because of its simplicity. Knowing the basic principles and sequence of equipment design, you can upgrade it at will. To assemble all parts of the equipment into a single whole, you will need to use:

drill with carbide type drills;
welding machine;
a saw cutting metal or a hacksaw;
metal sheet of the selected size;
round metal pipe;
metal rod;
bearings of different sizes;
bolts size M8.

To assemble a cold forging machine with your own hands, you need to use a proven sequence of actions:

Initially, you need to assemble a stand that will serve as a support. To do this, all its components (pipe sections of the same size and the joints between them at the top and bottom edges) must be connected into a single whole. The design may resemble a stool in appearance. The connection is made using a welding machine, and the sections are cut with a saw.
The next step is cutting the metal sheets. You should get circles of equal diameters and four triangles with equal sides. Triangular-shaped elements must be welded to the bottom of the connected pipe structure in such a way that something similar to a pyramid is formed. The base, which has a wider area, must be welded at the central point of the cut circle.
Four strips that are located horizontally must be attached to a circle with an already welded element. This should be done using bolts; for this you will need a drill to make the holes.
The next step is the construction of the handle. To do this you need to use two rods of different lengths. Their sizes can be determined by correlating them with the diameter of the circle. One rod should be commensurate with the diameter, the other should slightly exceed its size. When bending the first rod, you should maintain an angle of 30 degrees. Then weld both rods to each other, and then weld another rod into the lower part. There should also be a jumper between the first two sections, to which a lever is attached by welding, which should maintain the direction towards the structure made of rods.

A bearing for future directional variability in the device must be attached to the end of the attached lever, as well as to the segment located at the bottom of the structure. The upper section serves as a mount for a metal coil, which must be installed horizontally - it makes it possible to bend the metal. On the lower side of the segment, where there is a free end, a hole should be made equal in diameter to the size of the pipe section.

Read also: Copper bracelets: benefits and harms reviews

The last step in the algorithm of actions when constructing a machine for cold forging with your own hands will be the connection of the designed handle with a part of the device similar to a “pyramid”. These elements are fixed after putting on the handle with a wide-diameter nut, to which it is first necessary to weld a metal circle, which will allow the template itself to be attached to the machine. Next, the “snail” template is attached by welding.

Anyone who decides to take up forging seriously and make a cold forging machine with their own hands should be very scrupulous at the stage of creating drawings and calculations. Otherwise, the creation process is quite simple, and once you understand the principle of equipment design, you can come up with various variations of it that will help improve the product.

Devices for bending metal elements “Snail”

To bend workpieces according to certain parameters, auxiliary conductors are used, called “Snail”. They serve as a special template that allows you to reproduce dozens and, if necessary, hundreds of similar parts. The “Snail” machine for cold forging bends parts without additional heating.

The work is based on the deformation of metal according to a certain principle. To bend, you have to put in a lot of effort. Therefore, craftsmen quite often equip “Snail” devices with an electric drive. Geared motors help to develop significant forces with a limited shoulder of force application. The torque in the processing area can reach several tens of kilograms.

If such work is performed only due to the physical strength of the blacksmith, the worker will get tired quite quickly. Its productivity will drop to zero. And with a mechanical assistant, hundreds of workpieces can be produced per shift.

It must be taken into account that bending of workpieces is an intermediate stage in the manufacture of complex structures. They still need to be installed in the right place and welded. Only then will an intermediate result be obtained. Then the product will need to be painted and installed at the place of order. All operations will require not only time, but also the physical strength of the master.

Structurally, the device can be:

Non-separable, then it will be used to bend parts only to certain lengths. The resulting spiral has certain limitations in use.
Prefabricated (there are additional fragments to increase the bending time), and the device can be used to bend long parts. Large sized parts will be received.

To work with parts from small profile pipes, some make manual devices. They involve the use of levers to help move the workpiece around the mandrel. The finished parts are removed from the end, slightly loosening the tension.

Most often in such cases I use square bars □8...12. Some craftsmen manually bend profile pipes 15·15 mm with a wall of 1.5 mm. For larger products, a mechanical drive is required.

Twisters

Since ancient times, blacksmiths have cold-formed curls according to a template-mandrel using a horn lever grip, pos. 1 in Fig. This method is low-productive and not for wimps, but it allows you to quickly and easily make various bending mandrels from an ordinary steel strip: the end (thrust) horn of the lever prevents the template from yielding under the pressure of the workpiece. It is advisable to make the middle (bypass) horn sliding with fixation: the work will go slower, but, especially in inexperienced hands, more accurately.

The simplest devices for cold artistic forging

Another simple device for manual shaped bending is a strong board with support pins - spacers, pos. 2; Ordinary M8-M24 bolts are suitable. Depending on how friendly you are with your home exercise machine, you can work with a strip of up to 4-6 mm. They bend the strip by eye, the work goes slowly, but you can draw patterns up to Ilya Muromets on a horse in full armor or Buddha in a lotus flower. The latter, perhaps, is completely handmade: people who have fully mastered hatha and raja yoga are able to curl steel reinforcements into a pattern with their hands.

Features of the snail

The author specifically decided to draw the reader's attention to a number of points. This will help you avoid some mistakes in the future. For example, having understood the structure of the snail and the principle of its functioning, someone will want to assemble their own device, different from those whose drawings will be presented below.

Such a device (if we are talking about equipment made by hand) will allow bending samples using the cold forging method with a cross-section (square side) of no more than 10 - 12 mm. This implies a “manually controlled” snail model. Almost no one has anything to do with larger samples in everyday life. The machine can be improved by installing a drive and an electric motor.

But how rational is this for a small home forge?

Cold forging is carried out at low speeds. A sharp change in the geometry of the metal leads to the appearance of cracks (ruptures).
You will have to not only select the power of the electric motor, but also the gear ratio of the gearbox. Plus, you need to mount the automation circuit with the installation of the corresponding elements (buttons, starter, and so on). All this significantly complicates the manufacture of the machine.

How it works and what it is like

At its core, it is the deformation of metal rods in the form of their bending. In order for the rod to deform without heating, it must be rigidly fixed to the machine template. This machine is not for weak hands: scrolling and deformation are done using manual effort.

Of course, the snail can be equipped with an electric motor drive. But before that, you need to carefully consider the feasibility of this drive. The main argument for an electrical addition is the large amount of work involved.

Snail for forging - drawing. The machine can operate in two different designs:

The simplest option is a template welded to the base. This is a monolithic conductor with a single curl option in the form of a template.
An option that gives more variety in curls is several modules with curls of different diameters, which are attached to one base.

Manual drive can also be provided in different options:

The lever can be any suitable device.
A lever that is attached to a frame and driven by a moving bearing.
More complex designs use as many as three levers that rotate the axis and the conductor attached to it.

How to make a snail for cold forging, which option to choose - easier or more difficult? The choice again depends on expediency, in other words, on your production plans: what are you going to do, with what productivity and in what quantity?

Devices for making crow's feet

“Crow's foot” - flattening with the application of beautiful notches at the ends of the workpieces to make the structure more elegant or to reduce the thickness for various joints.

The ends of the elements are decorated with “houndstooth”

This operation can be performed using a machine with a die or fixture and a heavy forging hammer on an anvil. We provide both options in the form of videos.

Machine for making houndstooth

Tools for forging crow's feet

Detailed stamp making process

Below is a rolling machine to perform the same operation.

Machine for rolling "crow's feet" (the distance between the rollers is adjustable). Materials for a rolling machine: gears and shafts - spare parts from a used combine

Operating principle

Design specifications

The dimensions of the volute for cold deformation are determined by the diameter of the rolled product being bent and the required curl size. A sketch of the design of the forged product is first made. It is broken down into individual elements. For each spiral, a conductor is made - a snail or any other.

The simplest machines for cold forging have a massive, durable stand, at the upper end of which there is a groove for fixing a plate with a jig. Deformation is carried out due to the efforts of the master’s hands. He clamps the end of the rod and walks around the fixture.

If there is a rotary table and a lever, it is possible to produce volutes for rolling of a larger cross-section.

Flashlight device

This machine produces blanks for “Lanterns” or “Pine Cones” elements, which can consist of 4, 6, 8 or more rods. According to the principle of operation, the machine is similar to the “Twister”, but here the workpieces are bent around the guide shaft, which forms a more correct and accurate configuration of the product.

Flashlight device

Operation of the device for making “Flashlight”

Types, structure and principle of operation of the cochlea

Several varieties of the popular machine are used. All of them, regardless of the details of the cochlea device, use a general operating principle. A strip or rod of metal is forcefully pressed against a stationary template or against a movable ploughshare of the snail, forcing it to take the shape specified in the drawing.

monolithic non-separable volute using a fixed metal template. Used to produce series of identical products
removable design - bending is carried out around pins inserted into holes on a solid plate. Suitable for the production of unique parts with complex configurations, the cross-section of the rod is limited.
Collapsible volutes with rotation are more complex in design, but make it possible to obtain identical products of complex shape with great accuracy

Buy or make

It is better to pose the question in a different way. Do you need a large, high-quality batch of reference parts or just need to bend a couple of pipes? It’s still impossible to create a machine with minimal deviations using artisanal methods. And in terms of service life it will lose to the factory one. But for performing periodic (this is the key point) work, a homemade option is quite suitable. If the final parts do not require the highest dimensional accuracy. Otherwise, all that remains is to buy the necessary equipment.

Manufacturing technology of the “Snail” device

In a simplified way, the technological process of making a “Snail” machine with your own hands can be represented as a series of sequential operations.

A profile of the product to be manufactured is drawn on a sheet of paper. When drawing, the dimensions of the product are maintained. The drawing is needed only to obtain the profile of the part itself. Attention! When processing, the thickness of the workpiece is taken into account. A gap of at least 3...4 mm is needed, then the product can be removed after bending it in the device.
For most machines, a central stop is made. It will record the beginning.
Different craftsmen use their own fixation techniques, so their products can be distinguished by their handwriting.
A support plate is cut from a steel sheet. The center will be welded to it, as well as the spiral. The thickness of the plate must be at least 3 mm, as significant forces will be applied. The size of the plate in the future will also determine the parameters of the curl.
Using the spiral drawing, the workpiece is bent from the strip. When bending it, the parameters are controlled. The more accurately this element is manufactured, the easier it will be to manufacture elements for forging products. Attention! If it is necessary to make curls with more than one turn, you need to cut the spiral strip diagonally. Therefore, a strip of much wider width is used. The minimum size corresponds to the height of the profile that is going to be bent on the machine.
The device is placed on a special rack to make it easier to form finished products. For small parts it is convenient to place them on a vertical stand.
To make the job easier, weld the handle. It is installed on the reverse side so that it does not interfere with the installation and removal of workpieces.

Device "Gnutik"

Purchased or made independently, the “Gnutik” is a universal device that allows you to obtain an arc or angle from a rod. It consists of a base with a slider, on which a stop with an angle (90° or another as necessary) and two cylindrical fixed stops are fixed. By moving the slider and the angle stop, the rod bends at an angle. To obtain an arc, a third cylinder is provided, rotating on the side opposite to the angle stop.

The device can be made on a horizontal or vertical platform.

Axonometry of the "Gnutik" device - vertical arrangement

To scale the dimensions, here is a drawing of the bottom bar of this “Gnutik”.

Bottom bar

This device is universal. With the help of attachments you can not only bend, but also cut and punch holes. But this will be the next step.

Getting an arc on "Gnutik"

Getting an angle on "Gnutik"

This is what a homemade “Gnutik” looks like:

Making a simple snail with your own hands

The snail machine usually has replaceable jigs of different sizes. First, a tool template for cold forging is drawn. Then a snail is made from it - a conductor, or rather an open stamp for winding. A snail of the desired shape is cut out and attached to the base.

The most aesthetically pleasing are spirals made according to the golden ratio principle. To do this, you need to draw a square with a side equal to the cross-sectional size of the rod for which the jig is being prepared. Then the compass is placed alternately at each vertex of the square and a line is drawn clockwise. The line should end near the beam on which the compass leg stands.

Drawings of a snail for forging

Novice craftsmen often neglect the importance of the design stage and make templates for cold forging by eye. This may be enough to “feel the metal” and understand the essence of the process with your own hands.

Drawing of a snail for forging

But if you want to get beautiful products as a result, and even more so if you are planning to produce a series of identical elements, then when manufacturing a machine you cannot do without accurate calculations of all parameters - bend angles and radii, torques, maximum forces and others. An accurate calculation will allow you to create with your own hands a high-quality snail machine for cold forging, which will last a long time and will delight you with ease of operation and high-quality aesthetic products.

Dimensions of the future machine

Before you start making a homemade jig for making decorative curls, you must first decide on the dimensions of the main parts.

In particular, we are interested in the dimensions of the central part and the curl. Based on the actual dimensions of the template, the dimensions of other structural elements are determined - for example, the frame on which the bending jig will be attached.

To create a snail machine for cold forging with your own hands, drawings and dimensions, if necessary, can be selected on thematic sites (or look for suitable options on forums on this topic).

Moreover, there are many different options for homemade designs. Let's look at one of them.

To make the drawing we will need:

square steel bar 10x10 mm;
A4 sheet of paper;
square;
pencil and compass.

First of all, we place a square rod in the middle of a sheet of paper and draw two parallel lines.

Then we apply the rod in a perpendicular plane at an angle of 90 degrees (we use a square for this), and draw two more lines.

As a result, in the center of the snail template we should get a square measuring 10x10 mm, from which four lines extend in different directions.

We take a compass, place it in the corner of the square, and draw a semicircle.

Then we move the compass to another corner (we go in order), and also draw a semicircle, continuing the previous line.

And we do this until we get a curl of the required size - the main part of the snail drawing.

After this, use a compass to draw a circle (in this case, the diameter of the circle is 43 mm).

The drawing is ready. Now you need to select a steel blank of a suitable diameter and cut off a piece about 30 cm long from it. The beginning of the curl (center) is cut out from this blank.

Draw a drawing yourself or download it from the Internet and print it on a printer - it’s up to you.

There is another way to make the central part - we will talk about it in detail below.

Making the central part of the conductor

Equipment and tools that will be required for work:

drill press or drill;
Bulgarian.

We cut out one large circle from sheet metal 18-20 mm thick (this will be the base plate) and four small circles to make the center of the jig.

The made center is attached to the frame using fastening bolts (the author uses hexagon bolts) - for this we drill coaxial holes in the workpieces.

Next, we draw out the profile that will need to be cut using a grinder. We process the workpiece with a petal circle.

At the next stage, we will look in detail at how to make a snail. You can use a square or strip as the starting material. If there is no strip, it can be cut from sheet metal of suitable thickness.

Making a conductor blank

We proceed to the next stage of work - we are engaged in the manufacture of a device for forging metal, along which the workpiece will be bent. Let's take a square rod as a basis.

On a bending machine we bend two curls of equal length. We fasten them together using masking tape and mark the locations of future holes using a center punch.

We drill holes and cut threads for the mounting bolts. The finished contour of the snail will be bolted to a metal support plate (frame).

When the main parts are ready, you can begin the final part of the work - assembling the cold forging machine with your own hands.

To do this, you will also need to make a bed, and think about what materials to make the base from and how it will be attached to the workbench or other supporting surface (for example, a horizontal platform located on a stand).

Final assembly of the machine

We make the machine bed. To do this, we need two pieces of metal corner and a metal plate that will be installed vertically.

The top edges of the plate will need to be rounded. We drill holes in the prepared parts, and then connect them together using bolts.

In the metal plate we drill a hole for the shaft, for which a steel round timber is used.

Additionally, it is necessary to drill mounting holes for attaching housing bearings. Next, screw the bearings onto both sides of the plate and install the shaft.

As you can see, there are no difficulties in making a snail for cold forging with your own hands.

Moreover, the variant of the conductor discussed above is collapsible, which is very convenient - this greatly simplifies the storage of the device when it is not in use.

We attach the central part to the base plate, then screw curls from a square rod onto the bolts.

We attach the shaft to the back side of the support plate. Then we install the assembled volute jig for cold forging on the vertical plate (bed) of the machine.

Additionally, we drill a hole in the plate and install a shaft with support bearings.

At the end of the main shaft we drill a hole into which we insert a handle made of a steel round bar. The step-by-step work process can be seen in the video below.

Making a simple part on a machine

The strip steel workpiece is cut to the required size. This size is usually clarified by drawing the finished product and its component elements.

The free end is placed in the center of the spiral. The workpiece is secured using an internal screw.

The “Snail” rotation is performed. The workpiece is pressed tightly against the guides. This requires some effort to obtain the desired product profile.

By turning the device further, a curl is made. If necessary, insert the other end of the workpiece and make a closed or open curl.

Usually the other end does not stay straight. It is also bent. Therefore, a distinction is made between internal and external reverse curls. Marks are made on the device itself using a marker or chalk. They are used as a guide when making curls with the required parameters.

As you can see from the step-by-step guide, using a simple set of tools, a homemade curl maker is easy to make. How much does it cost? Its price is determined by the cost of the blanks. Often the price is minimal.

Monolithic non-demountable snail

It is made like this:

First, a diagram of the future template with the required dimensions is drawn on a sheet of paper (sometimes the template diagram is applied directly to the base of the conductor). This must be approached responsibly, because after welding the finished form, it will not be possible to correct errors. The thickness of the outline of the form in the drawing should be the same as the thickness of the metal strip used for its manufacture. It should be at least 3mm. The coils must be placed at a distance of 12–13 mm from each other, so that a 10 mm deformable rod fits into the groove between them.
The base of the snail (preferably round) is cut out of a steel sheet with a thickness of at least 4 mm, the diameter of which is determined in proportion to the size of the template spiral and be larger than the size of the snail. Typically the diameter of the base is within 70 cm.
In accordance with the drawing, the desired curl shape is made from a 3mm thick metal strip. To do this, it is better to calcinate the workpiece so that it is easier to machine. After making the mold, the excess end of the strip is cut off, and the edges of the snail are cut into a cone and cleaned.
The finished form is welded to the base, which is mounted on the frame. Sometimes a template welded to the base is fixed to the frame using yews installed on it. To do this, a piece of timber is welded to the back side of the base of the form for gripping with a yew.

With the option of fixing the conductor in a yew clamp, you can easily change the templates and obtain different shapes of curls if you make several types, monolithically welded to the base of the devices.

Removable design

On the working base, first draw the contour of the snail with a mark along the contour of the holes for attaching the template.

Based on the sketch, a template is made from a thick steel strip and holes are drilled in it. It is attached to the base with bolts.

Forging a twisted shape should begin from the central curl. The end of the workpiece is inserted into the groove of the first curl of the form and pressed tightly against it. You can use a small clamping tool to secure the fixation. With force, the free part of the rod is screwed onto the template using a device - a lever. Advanced designs use a lever driven by a moving bearing mounted on it. The lever is made of a rod with a diameter of 20 mm.

You can watch the making of such a device in the video:

Collapsible snails with rotation

The snail template can consist of several parts, and the deformation of the rod occurs by rotating the conductor. This machine consists of the following elements:

thick metal base in the form of a disk or square;
a collapsible template fixed to the base area;
rotation shaft;
lever to drive the shaft.

The working base is made of metal, with a thickness of 4 to 10 mm.

The prefabricated template may consist of several parts that are connected to each other by hinge pins inserted into the holes of the lugs welded to the ends of the elements. Together they make up the outline of the cochlea.

To attach such a snail to the working base, you need to drill holes in it to fix it to the surface in a certain position. By changing the position of the prefabricated parts on the base, you can obtain different curvature of the curls and their shape. The size of the arc of the shape is regulated by special screws attached to the connecting hinges.

It is quite difficult to make a composite volute with hinged joints yourself. Typically, craftsmen purchase a stamp made in an industrial environment and attach it to the bed.

You can make a simpler collapsible template device yourself without using hinges. To do this, you need to make a sketch of the prefabricated parts of the snail with the locations of the holes. If you prepare several sketches and, in accordance with their contours, drill holes in the base in different places, then you can attach templates with different radii to one base. To do this, you will need to bolt the contour segments where the holes of the template and the base align.

For example, you can do this:

Making a guide for the conductor

For these purposes, you will need an ordinary lathe of type 1K62 or 16K20, which is capable of cutting an Archimedean spiral, and, of course, an experienced turner. The “Archimedean spiral” function in lathes is intended for cutting special threads, but it is also quite suitable for obtaining a groove in the base plate, where the jig guide itself will then be located.

When preparing the machine, the following transitions are performed:

The small handle of the machine feed box is moved to the “Archimedes Spiral” position.
The required spiral pitch, which will determine the dimensions of the conductor, is set using a large handle.
The feed step is fixed by a lever, and the feed amount is determined by the depth of the groove in the plate (how to set this parameter will be discussed later).
After turning on the machine, the feed lever remains in the same position, and cutting is performed during the reciprocating movements of the spindle.
After each pass, the support is moved away from the end of the workpiece.

An example of obtaining an Archimedean spiral is presented in this video:

The fact that the frames show not metal, but plastic, does not fundamentally change anything: the spiral is obtained as a result of several successive passes of the cutter, which moves along a given path.

The dimensions of the spiral groove are determined based on the desired dimensions of the conductor and the height of its supporting surface. If in the first case everything depends on the size of the initial workpiece for the plate and the capabilities of the machine, then the depth of the groove should be calculated based on the height and thickness of the guide matrix.

Since in a cold state any metal has increased mechanical strength, then to make a guide matrix with your own hands you should use tool steel: for example, grade U7 steel according to GOST 1435-84. It is not recommended to use high- or medium-carbon structural steel such as steel 45 or steel 60G, since for tall volutes they may crack under the influence of a bending moment.

The dimensions of the guide matrix in plan are selected based on the available range of strip tool steel in accordance with GOST 4405-75. Since the jig must be compact, it is advisable to choose profiles 3×20, 3×25 or 3×30 with a maximum thickness deviation of 0.4 mm. When fitting the guide into the plate according to H11, the width of the spiral groove should be 0.5-0.7 mm greater than the width of the strip. The groove depth must be at least 1.5 times the strip height, i.e. 4.5 mm or slightly more. This parameter, by the way, will determine the thickness of the slab itself: it should be at least 6 mm.

The total length of the guide is determined from the cut groove in the slab (you can use a flexible tape measure or even regular thread to measure). Then they cut the required length of the strip “to size”, insert it into the groove and scald it along the contour (if the jig will produce only flat snails, then along the outer generatrix, and if three-dimensional, then along the inner one).

A support hook is bolted to the center of the conductor. It must have a lead-in section with which the workpiece is fixed at the initial moment of spiral formation (see Fig. 3).

Other equipment: universal, templates, patterns, etc.

Cold forging fixtures are used for arc bending, angling or twisting. Below are the main types of equipment.

The machines also include:

Stamp press. Using this device, a certain pattern is applied to metal by printing it from templates under pressure.
Mechanical unit. A device that helps bend a rod into a circle shape with different diameters.
Forging devices, which include templates, mandrels, and jigs, are used by individual craftsmen who are not chasing the number of elements produced.
Hand tools: pliers, forks, heavy hammer or sledgehammer are also more often used by individual craftsmen.

For your information! Templates, jigs and patterns for cold forging can be varied; each master makes them independently to obtain an exclusive form of the material. The most common types are listed above; you can make them yourself at home.

Marking and installation of “attached” equipment

Perhaps the most creative stage of work. You can do everything with your own hands. But how, taking into account the future or limiting ourselves to the production of similar samples?

Option 1. The simplest. The meaning of the operation is that the outline of a spiral is drawn on the tabletop.

Essentially, this is a sketch of future shaped parts, for example, from a rod. After this, it is enough to cut out several segments from a thick strip of iron, bent along a radius. They are welded to the tabletop, and the bending mechanism is basically ready.

Some may find this design more attractive - with a solid stripe.

But practice shows that it is more difficult to work with such a snail. For example, when removing the finished product from it, certain difficulties will arise.

Option 2. The same, but several contours are drawn. Holes are drilled along each one and threads are cut into them. All that remains is to prepare the templates for the stop segments. They are usually made with your own hands from thick cardboard or plywood.

Overlays are made from metal, in which, after the next marking, holes are also drilled, coinciding with the landing “sockets” in the slab. This design will make it possible to organize the production of spiral-shaped workpieces with different radii on one table. You will only have to, depending on the shape of the bend, install the appropriate segments in certain places. Their fastening to the base is bolted. You can do it differently. Instead of such stops, install cylindrical ones.

For fixation, they are attached with bolts (from the bottom of the slab) or are made immediately with legs (+ thread) and screwed into the tabletop. It's much more convenient with them. And if you have your own mini-lathe, then turning it yourself will take a couple of hours.

Option 3. Prepare several removable modules that can be changed as needed.

Stamping, forging and bending

So what is cold forging? It differs from stamping in that the metal hardly flows or flows weakly under the influence of the working element. Take a look at a beer can or, say, an aluminum or tin kettle. They are extruded with one blow of the punch of the stamping press; kettle, etc. products of complex shape - with a composite sliding punch. It is impossible to obtain the working force necessary to create such a high pressure at home, except in one case, see below.

Cold forging differs from hot forging, of course, in that the workpiece is not preheated. Actually, cold forging, which is forging, is the hardening (hardening) of a part with a long series of regular blows of a certain force. In this case, the structure of the metal changes significantly: the hardness of the surface layer increases, and the core provides overall toughness and fracture strength. Handicraftsmen - toolmakers and gunsmiths - literally hunt for buffers and wheel tires of railway cars, pieces of rails.

Steel hardening is carried out with a mechanical hammer.
You can do it yourself, and it’s even easier than some types of machines for cold artistic forging. But this publication is devoted specifically to the latter subject, and cold artistic forging is essentially bending (bending) metal: its structure in the part does not undergo significant changes, and changes in the physical and mechanical properties of the metal are not significant for the quality of the final product. Therefore, let’s leave cold forging, which is forging, until a suitable opportunity, and let’s deal with forging, which is bending. For brevity, we will simply call it artistic forging, and where it is necessary to mention hot forging, this will be specially discussed.

Functionality check

This is always implied, so no comment.

In principle, making a snail for cold forging is not so difficult. Moreover, there is no single standard for such devices.

Someone will say – isn’t it easier to buy a factory model? Firstly, as already said, you will have to search for a long time. Secondly, it is not a fact that her capabilities will coincide with the fantasies of the master.

Thirdly, you will have to lighten your wallet by about 19,000 (manual) and 62,000 (electric model) rubles, at a minimum.

Good luck in making your own snail!

Step-by-step technological process for making a reverse curl on the “Snail” machine

The rolling rollers perform sequential crimping of the pipe. Protruding ribs are formed, and the weld remains inside the layer, offset to the center.

The pipe ends are compressed on parallel eccentric rollers. It becomes like a stripe. In this form it is easier to fix it on the machine.

The shank is formed in a special device. Now the workpieces will be fixed on the machine in one movement.

The workpiece is fixed in the center. There is a groove that secures the shank. It can be seen that the spiral has a uniform descent in height.

After fixing the shank, the electric motor is turned on. Forming of the part begins.

The loop is formed when the workpiece touches a special support element. It is more often called the support shaft. To reduce the force, it is equipped with a bearing. The part rotates freely around the support.

Part of the spiral is formed. But if it is necessary to process for a longer length, a removable element will be installed.

A blank is also formed from the other end. Here the master determines in which direction to bend the part.

To continue work, a removable element of the “Snail” assembly is installed.

Now you can form the bend of large parts.

Even long workpieces are easily bent to specified dimensions. Marks are made on the work items. They are used to guide how much to bend.

On the reverse side, additional bending of the part is performed.

The product is being finalized on both sides.

The finished part has a finished appearance. If necessary, the shanks will be sawed off. Then no one will guess how the workpieces were fixed.

If you need to make a small part, then use another “Snail”. Experienced craftsmen have several of them.

"Globe" device

Such a device is similar in appearance to a school protractor and is designed for making arcs with a large bending radius from a strip, square, circle or hexagon. First, one end of the workpiece is fixed with a bend, then it is bent along its entire length according to the template. The principle of operation is somewhat similar to the operation of a canning machine.

Appearance of the device

Video of work at Globus

Using purely muscle power, a large diameter arc can be made on a template screwed or welded to a workbench. It is good for bending strips, thin-walled pipes, etc.

Sample

Types of machines

The parameters, setup variations, and manufacturing aspects of the equipment vary widely. Based on their identification, designated classes are formed. It is worth understanding that only some of them are available for amateur production, the rest function only in factory conditions.

Torsion bar

This is an analogue of the previous type of equipment, but based on an I-beam and a clamp. In the center there are vise rollers that pass the structure through themselves. The twisting is stronger and more intense. However, not all categories of products can be processed using the indicated method. For example, hollow and round products will not withstand pressure and will be incorrectly deformed.

Machine "Gnutik"

This is a simple DIY cold forging machine. It consists of two shafts, which in a certain way press the part passing through the middle. They are mounted on a static surface, and a wedge is placed in the center. Its task is to make a depression when the shafts begin to move.

Machine "Volna"

Often this manufacturing method is used in production. Therefore, such devices are often purchased in specialized stores, rather than created using artisanal methods. But there is nothing complicated about this either.

You will need a metal flat base and a couple of disks. By passing the material through themselves, they create that same wave on it. One of the disks will be the master, the second remains passive. That is, movements are carried out only by the first element. However, they do not have to be identical in size.

Press

This type of equipment is suitable if you are making flat objects. In fact, these are just two shafts that press the part together, without adding grooves or recesses. In this case, the product can still be made non-uniformly flat if the shafts themselves are corrugated. In this case, the gap between them is slightly increased so that they do not get into each other’s threads.

Fastening the pattern elements: final metal processing

After all the necessary elements of the ornament have been created, its formation begins. The appearance of the pattern may differ slightly from the sketch. To identify possible errors, you need to conduct a preview. Initially, the pattern can be laid out on a flat surface without fastening its parts together. In this way, you can evaluate how successful you were in bringing your idea to life, as well as correct shortcomings in your work. You should not start forming a pattern without first viewing the result.

Products look more complete if the elements are connected by welding.

There are two main types of connections:

Weld;
rivets (or artistic clamps).

It is useful to use a welding machine in places where the joint seam can be easily cleaned or will be invisible. To preserve the aesthetics of the ornament of a cold forged product, you can put figured rivets. They will reliably hold the components together and complement the decor.

The ornament is connected gradually, depending on the number of parts. Initially, small elements are held together, notches, twisted lines and monograms are formed. Welding is used. The seam is smoothed with a grinder using a 0.6 cm thick sanding wheel. It easily goes around bends and irregularities. Large parts are connected with curly clamps. The rivets are placed symmetrically to each other to complement the pattern. At the end of the work, the ornament is passed around with a cleaning or polishing wheel.

Cold forging allows you to create beautiful and original products with your own hands.

Artistic forging is not only a business or a job, but can also be an entertaining hobby. Even a novice craftsman can make cold forging equipment with his own hands from scrap materials. Cold forging specialists can easily be called artists, as they create beautiful ornaments from rough rods, pipes and sheets. Such hobbies require full dedication and considerable expenses. However, all the invested funds and efforts will bear fruit if they are supported by the desire to create beauty.